20 Mule Team Borax 1001 Tips and Tricks Plus Giveaway

Disclosure: As a member of the Purex Insiders, a sample of 20 Mule Team® Borax was provided to me in order to review it.  As always, my opinion is my own.

I was excited to hear that I was chosen to work with the Purex Insider team again to share some information about and a great giveaway involving 20 Mule Team® Borax.  Have you ever tried Borax? It is a great, inexpensive laundry booster plus can be used in your home hundreds of different ways.

Borax is the common name for sodium tetraborate: a naturally occurring substance produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. 20 Mule Team® Borax is 100% natural, and 99.5% pure (there is about a half of 1% of naturally occurring trace minerals). 20 Mule Team Borax comes from California where one of the world’s largest deposits was discovered in 1913.  Once removed from the ground it is washed, dried, and boxed for consumers.  Absolutely nothing is added. No phosphates, per-oxside, chlorine, or other additive chemicals.  Who wants more chemicals in your house anyway, right? I was so happy to hear that. Borates, borax and boron compounds are with us throughout our lives. Families use it to soak and wash diapers and other laundry, but it’s also an ingredient in cosmetics, medicines, ceramics and building materials. You can use it to clean tons of other things too!  There are so many ways to use 20 Mule Team Borax. 

Check out some of these other cleaning tips in addition to getting your clothes cleaner in the laundry room:

• For scratch-free cleaning of stains, grime, and grease throughout the kitchen, use a 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax dissolved in one gallon of hot water on sinks, counter tops, cookware, refrigerators, microwaves, toasters, and any other appliance in your arsenal. You can apply this dilution of all-natural 20 Mule Team Borax to any surface including tile, ceramic, porcelain, slate, marble, granite and stainless steel.

• You can also add a half cup of 20 Mule Team Borax to reduce water spotting, remove grime, and put a shine on dishes, utensils, pots, and pans.

• Power up your dishwasher detergent by sprinkling a 1/4 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax onto the bottom of the dishwasher to reduce spots and film on dishes and glasses.

• Just dilute a 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax in a 12-ounce spray bottle of water to deodorize mattresses.

• All-Natural Detergent Booster with Odor Control 20 Mule Team® Borax increases your detergent's power and controls odors to give you fresh, clean laundry. 

You can also check out the 20 Mule Team® Borax website with lots of great cleaning tips here. You also might be wondering "Where can I get Borax?"  Well, check out their link and you will be surprised it is readily available at all your fave grocery spots. You can win your own 20 Mule Team® Borax in my contest below.  Enter to win a free coupon for a box of 20 Mule Team Borax.a Rafflecopter giveaway

Important note: Keep 20 Mule Team Borax out of reach of children. We also recommend labeling any containers containing 20 Mule Team Borax solutions to identify the contents.

LuckyGirl Hair Ties Review

Disclaimer:  I received a product sample complimentary from People StyleWatch to review.  As always, my opinions are my own.

I recently received these novel hair ties from LuckyGirl and thought they were so adorable! I wore them to the gym last night and definitely felt more polished in my pony while working out.  I think I will try one for work today.  They are easy to use and look a little bit more modern and polished. I like that they are easy on my hair and seem to cause fewer creases.  The fun part is that I see on the package that you can wear them as a bracelet too!  Cute for a casual summer afternoon and then you can be prepared if you want to throw your hair up in a pony.  I saw tons more styles, colors and textures when I peeked to see what they had on Amazon and Etsy.  Sparkly, patriotic, hippy-dippy-- you name it!

Of course my almost teenager little one spied the adorable package and snagged a few for herself immediately.  Off to school with the apricot colored one in her hair today...sigh. I guess that means they are definitely most fashionable even though I could see it for myself.  So, LuckyGirl, it has been officially confirmed now:  your product is a hot fashion accessory.

I like that they are all handcrafted in the good 'ole U.S.A.  It always feels good to support our own economy. You can see tons of styles on Amazon, find them on Facebook and on Etsy.  

The Crayola Experience in Easton, PA is open!

Disclosure:  The Crayola Experience information has been provided by Crayola."

I just got all the scoop from Crayola today. It's official - the Crayola Experience is now open!  If you live in the tri-state area, or are considering traveling to the NY/NJ/PA area you should check out the Crayola Experience.  Are you looking for some fun day-trips for kids?  Good kids activities?  This is the spot. There are tons of fun activities like making your own art come alive on gigantic projected surfaces.

The Crayola Experience is the only place in the world where the magic of Crayola comes to life. There are four floors of new, interactive, one-of-a-kind attractions--wow!  There is so much to explore this summer at the Crayola Experience.  Your family can enter a world of discovery where color, chemistry, and technology magically combine to create a fantastic, colorful adventure. Perfect for adults kids of all ages.  Some of the attractions include:

• Wrap It Up! - Customize an authentic Crayola crayon label and wrap it around the color of your choice to create your very own crayon.
• Crayon Factory - Learn how iconic Crayola crayons are made in a live theatre show featuring our resident Crayonologist and his animated crayon character friends!
• Marker Mania - Make custom multi-color markers from scratch.
• Color Playground - Burn off excess energy in this Crayola-inspired indoor playground!
• Art Alive! - Make your art come to life on huge projected surfaces!   

The new Crayola Experience is the world’s only interactive Crayola family attraction. You can visit and follow them on the Crayola Facebook page and get more information (you never know about specials and deals too...I always follow).  The new Crayola Experience in Easton, PA will be an experience to remember for your whole family.  It is easy to get to from anywhere in the Northeast or the Mid-Atlantic too.  There are four floors of new interactive exhibits and one-of-a-kind attractions that will bring the indelible magic of color and your child’s creativity to life! 

Let me know your summer plans...who knows maybe we will meet up there!

Spring In Your Step Mom Meet Up Party

Disclosure:  I received product samples and promotional items to share through my membership with the Children's Claritin Mom Crew.  My opinions as always, are my own. 

I am thrilled to continue as a member of the Children’s Claritin Mom Crew. Recently we were offered an opportunity to host a “Spring in Your Step” Mom Meet-Up. Lord only knows I need to get a spring in my step sometimes so I was hoping my friends could help me out! It is a nice opportunity to get together and chat so why not talk about how we can help our families and ourselves to stay healthy all year long. 

We had plenty of snacks and beverages since I prepared everything ahead. I try to keep it simple with fresh dips, healthy crackers and veggies.  I also blended up some smoothies and made some Citrus Mint Spa Water. While we snacked we chatted about allergies.  This has been a difficult season for everyone. I was telling my sneezing marathon stories...my fave is when they happen on the highway.  Yikes...never fails. I just pray. I had the girls hysterical with laughter but it really does happen!  We also chatted about how we help our kids with allergies.  There are so many medications out there it can get confusing.  Several of the moms mentioned that they have had good luck and long-lasting relief  with Children’s Claritin.  They liked that one dose lasted 24 hours and I agreed. It is the first choice in my home as well.  We also talked about other tips for allergy season.  

The moms were excited to receive a Preparedness Checklist & Tips chart to take home.  It had tips for family health and safety from top to bottom even including yard safety. I was telling them how my elderly neighbor had a huge dead fir tree that was leaning towards her bedroom.  My sweet hubby tried to talk to her about it and explain how worried he was but her hearing is not good. My hubby finally called her son in MA and told him.  The tree was removed professionally within two days. All we needed was another good storm, never mind a Superstorm Sandy and that could have been a very scary situation. 

The checklist got us talking about lots of mom stuff and how we can balance better incorporating exercise, eating healthy and giving time to ourselves along with our families.  Claritin also provided an extra little gift to the moms, a handy hot/cold eye mask.  Everyone was excited about it because you can microwave it or freeze it to provide relief of a migraine or even another area of distress. It has velcro straps so it stays in place too!